cover image A Year in the Wilderness: Bearing Witness in the Boundary Waters

A Year in the Wilderness: Bearing Witness in the Boundary Waters

Amy and Dave Freeman. Milkweed, $35 (238p) ISBN 978-1-57131-366-9

Through evocative personal narrative and nature photography, the Freemans, spouses and educators, beautifully chronicle a yearlong journey, beginning in fall, of canoeing and dogsledding through Minnesota’s Boundary Waters. The work was conceived as a piece of witness activism designed to warn against the dangers of proposed sulfide-ore copper mining in the region. The Freemans are well-prepared; highly supported by individuals, businesses, and organizations; and explicit in their approach as ambassadors for the Boundary Waters. They speak with a single attentive and amiable voice that centers the joys and challenges of navigating the land and water, especially during deep winter and periods of spring thaw. The pair eschews discussions of personal drama and there’s little mention about the desire to get away from 21st-century civilization; they write openly about charging camera batteries, posing for film crews, and reading on their Kindle as core parts of the project. They also share their enthusiasm over receiving about 300 visitors during the year, learning the personalities of their sled dog teammates, and encountering the wild animals of the territory they cover. Gorgeous color photographs focus on the human experience of being in wilderness and augment a novel work that should draw attention to the plight of the Boundary Waters. Color photos. (Sept.)